Aid ship seized by Israel named after Gaza's only fisherwoman, Madleen Kullab
The group of 12 activists were intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters on June 9, and later docked in Israel's port of Ashdod.
Their vessel, the Madleen, was named after Gaza's only fisherwoman, Madleen Kullab.
Speaking to FRANCE 24, Kullab said she had followed the humanitarian aid ship's voyage.
Even though the activists did not reach Palestinian enclave, the mission gave Gazans 'hope that there are still people with us', Kullab said.
'It gave us strength and patience and made us feel that we weren't alone,' she added.
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Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Iran says nuclear talks 'meaningless' despite 'second chance' offer
The Israeli Defence Forces said "dozens" of Iranian missiles were launched into Israel in multiple waves of strikes in the early hours of Saturday. Sirens and the boom of explosions, possible from Israeli interceptors, could be heard in the sky over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At least three were killed in Israel, and dozens were wounded. Two of those died after an Iranian missile struck near homes in central Israel early Saturday morning, also injuring 19 others, according to Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom. Israel's Fire and Rescue service said four homes were severely damaged. Local media had earlier reported that one woman had been killed in the Tel Aviv area. The IDF said "some of the missiles were intercepted," adding that "Search and Rescue forces are currently operating in a number of locations across the country in which reports of fallen projectiles were received." Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv said it has treated seven people hurt by the second Iranian barrage; six had light injuries and the seventh was moderately wounded. At least 34 people were injured in Tel Aviv during the first wave of strikes. Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote that direct hits were reported in central Israel, wounding five people. It said several buildings were hit by Iranian missiles. The Israeli military urged civilians to head to shelter amid the fresh wave of missiles, but have since permitted them to leave again. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen post on X late on Friday that she had called Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and urged "all parties to act with maximum restraint and work to de-escalate the situation." The sound of explosions and Iranian air defence systems firing at targets was also echoing across the centre of Iran's capital, Tehran, shortly after midnight on Saturday. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported a fire at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, posting a video on X of a column of smoke and orange flames rising from what the outlet said was the airport. Israel's ongoing attacks on Iranian nuclear sites killed 78 people and wounded more that 320 on Friday, said Iran's ambassador to the United Nations. The strikes killed generals and scientists, but the ambassador told the UN Security Council that 'the overwhelming majority' of victims were civilians. The ambassador spoke shortly after Iran's first barrage of long-range missiles targeting Tel Aviv, which wounded at least 34 people, according to the Israeli paramedic service. As Iranian projectiles and Israeli interceptor rockets left trails of smoke and flame across the night sky on Friday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to let Israel 'escape safely from this great crime.' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Iran to halt their attacks on one another, while calling for diplomacy. 'Israeli bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian missile strikes in Tel Aviv. Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,' Guterres wrote on X on Saturday. US President Donald Trump has framed the volatile moment in the Middle East as a possible "second chance' for Iran's leadership to avoid further destruction "before there is nothing left and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.' However, an Iranian spokesperson later called nuclear talks with the US "meaningless" after Israel's barrage of strikes on the country. Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform that he had given Iran a "60 day ultimatum to make a deal", and that Friday marked "day 61." The White House has insisted that Washington was not involved in Israel's military operation, although anonymous US officials have said the Trump administration was aware in advance of Israel's planned large-scale attacks on Iran. In an interview with ABC News on Friday morning, Trump said the Israeli attack on Iran was 'excellent' and again previewed more attacks to come. 'We gave them a chance and they didn't take it,' Trump told ABC's Jon Karl. 'They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you're going to get hit. And there's more to come. A lot more.' The US president pressed on Iran as he met his national security team in the Situation Room on Friday to discuss the tricky path forward following Israel's devastating strikes, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to keep up for 'as many days as it takes' to decapitate Iran's nuclear programme. While the White House said it had no involvement in the strikes, Trump highlighted that Israel used its deep arsenal of weaponry provided by the US to target Iran's main enrichment facility in Natanz and the country's ballistic missile program, as well as top nuclear scientists and officials. In the aftermath of the Israeli strikes, the US is shifting its military resources, including ships, in the Middle East as it looks to guard against possible retaliatory attacks by Tehran, according to two US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to begin sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward, so it can be available if requested by the White House. As Israel stepped up planning for strikes in recent weeks, Iran had signalled the United States would be held responsible in the event of an Israeli attack. The warning was issued by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi even as he engaged in talks with Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme. Friday's strikes came as Trump planned to dispatch Witkoff to Oman on Sunday for the next round of talks with the Iranian foreign minister. Witkoff still plans to go to Oman this weekend for talks on Tehran's nuclear program, but it's unclear if the Iranians will participate, according to US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private diplomatic discussions. Trump also spoke Friday with British Prime Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron about the evolving situation, as well as Netanyahu. In the early hours on Friday, Israel launched a large-scale military operation against at least 100 targets in Iran, including the Tehran regime's military leadership and strategic sites of the Iranian nuclear programme. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel targeted Iran's nuclear enrichment and nuclear weaponisation facilities, ballistic missile programme sites, as well as individual Iranian nuclear scientists. About a dozen different sites appear to have been targeted, including those in Tehran, Shiraz and Tabriz, as well as reportedly in Isfahan and Kermanshah. According to the IDF, Israel used 200 fighter jets and around 330 'various munitions' to strike more than 100 targets across the country. Israel and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the strikes at the Natanz nuclear site, around 250km from Tehran. Iran's most significant nuclear enrichment site and its underground centrifuge facilities are protected by heavy concrete walls. Construction work was under way to expand the site. It is unclear how much damage was done during the attack, but video footage posted online appeared to show the aftermath of massive explosions. According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the list of targets in Tehran includes the neighbourhoods of Farahzad, Amir Abad and Andarzgou, the Lavizan district and the Asatid-e Sarv complex. Targets were also hit on the Nobonyad, Langari and Patrice Lulumba streets in Tehran. The Jahan Koudak Tower was also struck. The ISW says unverified images have been circulating on social media showing specific buildings impacted by the airstrikes, suggesting that Israel conducted targeted killings in Tehran. Israeli Army Radio also reported that Israel targeted Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to the supreme leader. Iranian authorities told UN atomic agency chief Rafael Grossi that Israel's strikes had not hit the country's nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Bushehr. The Fordow facility is located some 100 km southwest of Tehran. It also hosts centrifuge cascades, but it is smaller than the Natanz facility. Iran is using Fordow to produce most of the near-weapons-grade uranium it has amassed since 2021. The site is reportedly designed to withstand airstrikes as it is protected by anti-aircraft batteries. It is a heavily protected enrichment site built into a mountainside, which sits an estimated 80 metres under rock and soil. Military experts previously said that it would require a weapon like a 'bunker-buster' bomb known as the 'Massive Ordnance Penetrator'. This is the aspect where Israel might need US help and support in providing this type of weapon. Another nuclear facility not targeted by Israel is the one in Isfahan. Located around 350 km southeast of Tehran, Isfahan employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It is also home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic program. Isfahan is considered Iran's largest nuclear research complex. The Bushehr nuclear power plant on the Persian Gulf, around 750 km south of Tehran, is Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant. Construction on the plant began under Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the mid-1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the plant was repeatedly targeted in the Iran-Iraq War. Russia later completed construction of the facility. Iran is building two other reactors like it at the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the IAEA.
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
Iran launches more missiles at Israel after it targets nuclear facilities
Iran and Israel targeted each other with airstrikes early on Saturday after Israel launched its biggest-ever offensive against its longtime foe in a bid to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the country's two largest cities before dawn, sending residents rushing into shelters. The military said its air defence systems were operating, seeking to intercept Iranian missiles. "In the last hour, dozens of missiles have been launched at the state of Israel from Iran, some of which were intercepted," the Israeli military said. It said rescue teams were operating at a number of locations across the country where fallen projectiles were reported, without commenting on casualties. Several explosions were heard in the Iranian capital Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. The Fars news agency said two projectiles hit Tehran's Mehrabad airport, and Iranian media said flames were reported there. Close to key Iranian leadership sites, the airport hosts an air force base with fighter jets and transport aircraft. Israeli media said a suspected missile came down in Tel Aviv, and a Reuters witness heard a loud boom in Jerusalem. It was unclear whether Iranian strikes or Israeli defensive measures were behind the activity. The Fars news agency said Tehran launched a third wave of airstrikes on Saturday after two salvos on Friday night. Those were in response to Israel's attacks on Iran early on Friday against commanders, nuclear scientists, military targets and nuclear sites. In central Tel Aviv, a high-rise building was hit during a wave of the missile attacks, damaging the lower third of the structure, which stands in a densely populated urban area. An apartment block in nearby Ramat Gan was destroyed. Israel's ambulance service said 34 people were injured on Friday night in the Tel Aviv area, most with minor injuries. Police later said one person had died. The US military helped shoot down Iranian missiles headed for Israel on Friday, two US officials said. Israel's military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles on Friday and that most were intercepted or fell short. Several buildings in and around Tel Aviv were hit. The Israeli strikes on Iran throughout the day and the Iranian retaliation raised fears of a broader regional conflagration, although Iran's allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been decimated by Israel. Trump says: Not too late Iran's state news agency IRNA said Tehran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel after Israel blasted Iran's huge Natanz underground nuclear site and killed its top military commanders. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes. Israeli officials said it may be some time before the extent of damage at Natanz was clear. Western countries have long accused Iran of refining uranium there to levels suitable for a bomb rather than civilian use. The above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz has been destroyed, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council on Friday. He said the UN was still gathering information about Israeli attacks on two other facilities, the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of starting a war. A senior Iranian official said nowhere in Israel would be safe and revenge would be painful. Iran's UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said 78 people, including senior military officials, were killed in Israel's strikes on Iran and more than 320 people were wounded, most of them civilians. He accused the US of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences. Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon said intelligence had confirmed that within days Iran would have produced enough fissile material for multiple bombs. He called Israel's operation "an act of national preservation." Iran has long insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. The UN nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. US President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Tehran to halt the Israeli bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear programme. Tehran had been engaged in talks with the Trump administration on a deal to curb its nuclear programme to replace one that Trump abandoned in 2018. Tehran rejected the last US offer.
France 24
14 hours ago
- France 24
Israel fire service says responding to 'major' incidents from Iran missile attack
"Firefighting crews are handling several major incidents, mainly in the Dan region" around Tel Aviv, a statement said, adding that "firefighters are working in a high-rise building to rescue trapped individuals and extinguish a fire, as well as responding to two additional destruction sites." AFP footage from central Tel Aviv showed fire and smoke rising from a condo tower, a large hole ripped open by an explosion at its base. After Israel targeted military and nuclear sites across Iran, the Islamic Republic sent a fleet of drones, followed by two salvoes of missiles. "In both series, less than 100 missiles were fired, most of which were intercepted by air defense systems", Israel's military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a statement. "There are a limited number of hits on buildings, some from shrapnel from the interception", he added. Immediately after the first salvo, a thick plume of smoke billowed over the coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv, an AFP journalist reported. A residential building next to the defence ministry in Tel Aviv was also struck. Resident Chen Gabizon, 30, told AFP he ran to the building's underground shelter after receiving an alert notification. AFPTV images of the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan showed a street littered with debris of damaged nearby buildings whose facades were torn by a missile's blast. First responders worked to remove a dozen vehicles destroyed by bits of fallen concrete, metal bars and wooden planks from a destroyed residential building. A spokesman for Israel's first responders agency, the Magen David Adom, said on private Israeli television channel 12 that 21 people were injured by the missiles, including two in serious condition.
